New To The Herd — Meet #LunaTheBottleCalf

Hey, blog.

I know I’ve put you out to pasture these past couple of months. There’s been so much to cover it exhausts me just thinking about trying to string the words together and share the good, the bad and the ugly. First and foremost, we moved! We’re back in Arizona enjoying the desert’s version of fall. Matt’s managing a ranch and working on his newsletter and my mobile office just packed up and followed him West (WFH perks, am I RIGHT?). Our house in Colorado sold relatively quickly and we moved in with family in Tucson while we were on the hunt for the perfect place. We’ve been looking seriously for about 3 months now and I’m pleased to say that 3 offers, a few ulcers and lots of tears later, we’re officially under contract on a house! Simultaneously, while living in limbo, my client roster has doubled and I am still loving being a full-time small business owner. I can’t believe I’m about to celebrate a full year in business. This business and I certainly grew up a lot these past 11 months. While the making it to the 1 mark of self-employed status and finding a new home headlines are shareworthy — they’re of course eclipsed by the newest member to the herd, Luna the bottle calf.

Let’s backtrack. On Monday, Matt texted me 👇🏻

He found a cow too late early that morning with no calf in sight. After further investigation, he found a little heifer calf hiding in the brush who had yet to be licked clean. He got her cleaned up and a colostrum replacement in her ASAP and began the hunt for a replacement mom. Fortunately (or so we thought), he found another heifer who just calved who accepted her along with the calf already at her side. Keeping a calf with a cow is ideal nutrient and socialization-wise, so we thought we had a solution. Next day: no deal. Mom #2 wanted nothing to do with her. So Matt put a tarp down in the back of his truck and drove Luna to her new home. Thankfully she had gotten a colostrum replacement and nursed on Mom #2 before taking the bottle, so she was semi on-track nutrient-wise.

When Matt called to tell me he was on his way, I worked on converting a horse stall and run to be a nursery (first time #bottlebabymom here). We bedded it down with shavings, set out water and set up a heat lamp (when she arrived Arizona was in a cold snap with temps getting down to freezing at night). It’s a great setup since she’s protected from predators at night and during the day has plenty of room to roam in the sunshine.

From the second she arrived, Luna has been a hit.

When Luna arrived, she was cool as a cucumber. Pretty impressive for being 2 days old and being an orphan.

Taken to drinking from a bottle like a pro. I love a girl with an appetite!

She’s taken to the bottle right away and to say she looks forward to her feedings is an understatement. This is our first experience raising an orphan calf and through lots of research and consultation we have a good idea of what to look out for healthwise. Often with stress and a weakened immune system, keeping an eye out for scours (digestive upset) is important.

For all you other first-time bottle calf parents out there, we’ve found this calf health scoring chart helpful courtesy of The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

I mean come on.

At 5 days old we are celebrating every feeding. She’s currently getting 3 bottles per day and she’s definitely getting stronger. After each feeding she’ll do a “victory lap” around her stall. We’ll for sure keep you posted on #LunaTheBottleCalf’s progress, I’ll be sharing a ton to my stories so make sure to follow along on Insta — @caroline.arendt. It’ll be fun to watch her grow up!

For all your bottle baby pros out there, got any secrets/tips/tricks?

Until next time! XO Caroline